The Skinny: The Shockers are the first team in Division I history to win its first 30 games in the regular season. They are the 18th team to enter the NCAA tournament undefeated and seven of those won the national championship. The last team to enter the NCAAs undeafeated was UNLV (30-0) in 1990-91. The Runnin' Rebels lost to Duke in the national semifinals.

The Skinny: Third straight year a team with a losing record has made the tournament. Cal Poly secured its first NCAA tourney berth in improbable fashion, winning the Big West tournament as the seventh seed. Reserve guard Ridge Shipley's 3-pointer gave the Mustangs the lead in the final seconds of the title game.

The Skinny: A year after being unable to make the NCAA tournament because of NCAA sanctions, Texas Southern won the SWAC tournament for the school's fifth NCAA bid. The Tigers lost in overtime to North Carolina-Asheville in their most recent appearance.

The Skinny: Kentucky is the first AP preseason No. 1 that didn't earn a No. 1 seed since Kansas in 2005. The Wildcats have fallen all the way to No. 8, but they might be getting it together now. Kentucky came within a point of beating Florida in the SEC tournament title game.

The Skinny: T.J. Warren was the ACC Player of the Year. N.C. State is vulnerable on the defensive boards. The Wolfpack have allowed opponents 12.7 offensive rebounds per game. The Wolfpack beat Syracuse in the ACC tournament quarterfinals and were a somewhat surprising inclusion in the NCAA tournament.

The Skinny: Xavier has made the NCAA tournament eight of the last nine years and 12 of the last 14. A victory over N.C. State would give the Musketeers a shot at Saint Louis in a matchup of former Atlantic 10 foes.

The Skinny: Defending national champion. Trying to become the first team to repeat as national champion since Florida in 2006-07. Pitino faces former Cardinal assistant Steve Masiello. Louisville has won its last 12 postseason games, is 20-1 in its last 21 postseason contests and is looking for its third consecutive Final Four appearance.

The Skinny: Senior Rhamel Brown was the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight season. He joined Fairfield's Deng Gai as one of two players in conference history to gain three Defensive Player of the Year awards. Gai took home the award in 2002, 2003 and 2005.

The Skinny: Not only is this the first NCAA tournament berth for UMass since 1998, the Minutemen are also on a run of three straight 20-win seasons. They haven't done that since a streak of six straight from 1991-96.

The Skinny: The Hawkeyes were breezing along at 19-6 before losing six of their last seven to put their NCAA tournament hopes in some jeopardy. Senior guard Devyn Marble leads an Iowa team that can still score with the best of them.

The Skinny: A five-game winning streak late in the season enabled the Volunteers to slip into the field of 68. Tennessee had a few nice victories before that, though, including a 35-point rout of Virginia and a 15-point win over Xavier.

The Skinny: Only one of Duke's Final Four runs came as a No. 3 seed. That was in 1990, when the Blue Devils lost to UNLV in the title game. The Blue Devils are 32-5 in NCAA tournament games in the state of North Carolina.

The Skinny: The Bears score nearly 80 points a game and have just one player averaging in double figures. Langston Hall won the 2014 A-Sun Player of the Year and Bob Hoffman was tabbed as the A-Sun Coach of the Year. Hoffman is the first head coach since College of Charleston's John Kresse in 1998 to win the award in back-to-back seasons.

The Skinny: The Wolverines reached the title game last year as a No. 4 seed. They enter this year's NCAA tournament as a No. 2 after winning the Big Ten by three games in the regular season. Michigan played the entire conference slate without big man Mitch McGary, who has been out with a back injury.

The Skinny: Mike Young was named the Coach of the Year in the conference. The Terriers are making their third trip to the NCAA tournament in the last five years.

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